1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to golf practicing devices, and more particularly to that class of apparatuses which are capable of displaying a measurement related to the distance that the ball would travel if permitted to do so, the angle that the ball assumes relative to a known line of intended trajectory and the loft which the ball receives--after being struck by the club of the practicing golfer--such that the ball is interrupted in its flight path and comes to a stopping position relatively close to the golfer, thereby conserving time and minimizing walking between practice ball strokes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art abounds with golf practicing apparatuses. Typical of such devices is the teaching illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 1,443,412 issued to C. H. Hutton on Jan. 30, 1923. The Hutton patent describes a dynamometer approach to a practice curtain that is pretensioned. Upon impact, a ball permits a dynamometer-like device to register the amount of impact force perceived by the curtain, which force is translated to a scale permitting the user to interpret the distance that the ball would have traveled had it not been interrupted in its path by such curtain. The direction that the ball assumes is measured by observing the point of impact of the ball onto the screen relative to a series of lines printed on the screen, such that the user may gauge the accuracy of the direction which the ball follows.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,652,270 issued Dec. 13, 1927 to V. P. Brun similarly describes a ballistic impact measuring device which determines the force imparted upon a golf ball, interpreting same as to the distance the ball would have traveled had it not been interrupted in its flight path by a vertically draped sheet.
The shortcomings to the prior art are such that an inexpensive, efficient, light, compact and durable mechanism has not yet been taught, which could measure the impact of the ball--as a means of indicating its free-path traveling distance, but also a mechanism has not yet been described and which would also accurately and without player interpretation, provide data as to the actual direction that the ball travels--prior to impinging upon the target screen and also providing data as to the actual angle of loft of the ball, during its short flight. The loft taken by the ball, coupled with the driving force imparted to it, determines the distance that the ball will travel. The instant invention measures loft as well as force, and also measures and reports to the user the direction that the ball takes.